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Freak

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Michele "1L" Keane
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Post  Martin VW Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:30 am

This may sound odd, but even though I fully realize I'm 6'5", I don't think of myself as unusually tall.

Then, every so often I'll see a picture that reminds me that it is somewhat out of the ordinary, especially for a runner.

A friend sent me this picture from a USATF team race a couple of weeks ago. Look at the eyes of the guy in green.

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Post  Chris M Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:20 am

Ha ha - that's exactly what that guy is thinking....."holy cow, this tall freak is killing it!"

Sitting with MVW at a Red Sox game a few weeks back was enlightening. That 1912-era stadium was NOT built for 6'5" freaks. Poor guy simply could not sit in certain seats and we had to move.
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Post  Nick Morris Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:51 am

Haha...That is a great pic. I too sometimes think of myself as different from other runners due to my 170 muscular frame. I look at all of the other faster runners and see these skinny little dudes...I think they look at me and say this guy has no chance at staying with me. But then they start to worry when I kick it and they can't stay with me Smile
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Post  Martin VW Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:08 pm

Nick Morris wrote:Haha...That is a great pic. I too sometimes think of myself as different from other runners due to my 170 muscular frame. I look at all of the other faster runners and see these skinny little dudes...I think they look at me and say this guy has no chance at staying with me. But then they start to worry when I kick it and they can't stay with me Smile

Add another 20 lbs onto that, Nick. And 20 years. Feel my pain. Smile

I need my own class - Tall Heavy Old Guys. I'd rule.
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Post  Jerry Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:26 pm

He was like: dude, go back to basketball court. finally I find my game, you are ruining it. Very Happy
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Post  JohnP Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:53 pm

Seems to me the tallest guy should wear the longest shorts, too much leg showing!
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Post  ssilvert Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:56 pm

Yes, Martin is rather tall and heavy for a runner. A few years ago, I looked at the BMI for as many top US runners as I could find. It turned out that the taller runners had a lower BMI than the shorter runners. This suggests that to compete well, taller runners need to be even more careful about their weight.

My advice to Martin is to stop eating. It's bad for your running.

Also, this chart is kind of interesting. It says that any American man between 5' 7" and 6' 1" is within the standard deviation. Us medium-sized guys are normal. The rest of you are freaks.

Population of American Men in various height categories
Height Range
Std. Deviation
Expected Number
4'7" - 4'10"-4σ3,200
4'10" - 5'1"-3σ135,000
5'1" - 5'4"-2σ2,100,000
5'4" - 5'7"-1σ13,600,000
5'7" - 5'10" average 34,000,000
5'10" - 6'1" average 34,000,000
6'1" - 6'4" 1σ13,600,000
6'4" - 6'7" 2σ2,100,000
6'7" - 6'10" 3σ135,000
6'10" - 7'1" 4σ3,200
7'1" - 7'4" 5σ28
7'4" - 7'7" 6σ0
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Post  Martin VW Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:18 pm

JohnP wrote:Seems to me the tallest guy should wear the longest shorts, too much leg showing!

LOL!! Believe it or not, I actually do put considerable thought into short length.

For men, I've noticed that short length varies with speed, not height. Meaning, all the fast guys wear splits with a 1" inseam. Back of the pack guys are running in 9" dazzles.

Based on my 36" inseam, I would look ridiculous in 1" splits.

The shorts I have on are a 3 1/2". The other guys in the pic are probably in 5". It just LOOKS like more of a difference.
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Post  Dave-O Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:52 pm

See, I thought the guy was thinking, "I thought this old fast dude retired!" Cool
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Post  fostever Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:07 pm

I thought you retired from competitive running after Boston? Brett Favre
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Post  fostever Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:12 pm

Nick Morris wrote:Haha...That is a great pic. I too sometimes think of myself as different from other runners due to my 170 muscular frame. I look at all of the other faster runners and see these skinny little dudes...I think they look at me and say this guy has no chance at staying with me. But then they start to worry when I kick it and they can't stay with me Smile
Which "skinny little dudes" are you referring to? Oh wait, that's right, the grade school-ers! gotcha!
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Post  Michele "1L" Keane Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:26 pm

Dave-O wrote:See, I thought the guy was thinking, "I thought this old fast dude retired!" Cool

Exactly what I was thinking! I've only met you once, and being somewhat short, I guess I never realized just how tall you are, Martin. I can say that I used to feel "big" as a runner back in the day (I'm only 5'4" and 125 lbs) when I competed against a lot of skinny girls, but now I am proud to say that I fit right in since so many more women run of all shapes, sizes, and speeds.
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Post  Nick Morris Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:35 pm

fostever wrote:
Nick Morris wrote:Haha...That is a great pic. I too sometimes think of myself as different from other runners due to my 170 muscular frame. I look at all of the other faster runners and see these skinny little dudes...I think they look at me and say this guy has no chance at staying with me. But then they start to worry when I kick it and they can't stay with me Smile
Which "skinny little dudes" are you referring to? Oh wait, that's right, the grade school-ers! gotcha!

It is easier to win the race Smile
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Post  Martin VW Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:36 pm

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:
Dave-O wrote:See, I thought the guy was thinking, "I thought this old fast dude retired!" Cool

Exactly what I was thinking! I've only met you once, and being somewhat short, I guess I never realized just how tall you are, Martin. I can say that I used to feel "big" as a runner back in the day (I'm only 5'4" and 125 lbs) when I competed against a lot of skinny girls, but now I am proud to say that I fit right in since so many more women run of all shapes, sizes, and speeds.

Because I'm all legs, when I sit I don't appear as tall as I am. Plus, I think I compensate for my height in my interactions with others by not hovering.
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Post  Martin VW Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:53 pm

fostever wrote:I thought you retired from competitive running after Boston? Brett Favre

Nope, although I don't know that I would call the times I'm turning in right now "competitive."

Boston was my last marathon. That's 100%. Before Boston I was recruited by my running team to compete in the USATF-New England Grand Prix Series on a team of 50 - 59 year olds. It's pretty damned competitive. On a good day, I'll place Top 20 in age group!

You need 5 runners, and Top 3 score. So far I've run the half marathon (pre-Boston) and 12K (May, where the picture is from). I missed the 10 miler in February due to my son's hockey and the 10K in June due to hockey playoffs. I have a 5 mile race this Saturday and then a 5K September 30th. I won't compete in the marathon (Cape Cod, late October) but you only need 3 competitors for that one.

The only other possibles are my running a local 10K in mid-September as the defending champion (I won't win it again, I'm sure that was just a freak occurrence) and an OUTSIDE possibility of running a mile street race on New Years Day - but I doubt that one.
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Post  Martin VW Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:56 pm

fostever wrote:I thought you retired from competitive running after Boston? Brett Favre

Nope, although I don't know that I would call the times I'm turning in right now "competitive."

Boston was my last marathon. That's 100%. Before Boston I was recruited by my running team to compete in the USATF-New England Grand Prix Series on a team of 50 - 59 year olds. It's pretty damned competitive. On a good day, I'll place Top 20 in age group!

You need 5 runners, and Top 3 score. So far I've run the half marathon (pre-Boston, came in 2nd on the team) and 12K (May, where the picture is from, came in 3rd so I still scored). I missed the 10 miler in February due to my son's hockey and the 10K in June due to hockey playoffs. I have a 5 mile race this Saturday (I doubt I'll score) and then a 5K September 30th (feel better about that one, with 2 more months to train). I won't compete in the marathon (Cape Cod, late October) but you only need 3 competitors for that one.

The only other possibles are my running a local 10K in mid-September as the defending champion (I won't win it again, I'm sure that was just a freak occurrence) and an OUTSIDE possibility of running a mile street race on New Years Day - but I doubt that one.
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Post  JohnP Tue Jul 24, 2012 10:19 pm

Martin, one other thing I notice from the picture, you are seemingly landing on your heel. I know you are very good at the quick turnover so I was surprised to see that.
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Post  Ben Z Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:32 am

You are a freak. Period.
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Post  Martin VW Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:45 am

JohnP wrote:Martin, one other thing I notice from the picture, you are seemingly landing on your heel. I know you are very good at the quick turnover so I was surprised to see that.

I want to start by stating that IMO there's a "right" way for each of us to run, but being a midfoot striker vs. a heel striker doesn't mean one is better than the other. I don't believe in the pronounced toe strike, I think it puts way too much stress on your calves. Some runners may have learned to compensate, but I still think there's performance to be gained by changing that. And, I suppose if you were a really HEAVY heel striker, a lot of energy transfer is being lost.

That aside, Chris and I have talked about how when we run, we don't get that "classic" knee lift /butt kick. that we sort of "shuffle" along. When we want to run fast, we just shuffle faster. Smile Because we took to distance running in our 40's we've theorized that we landed on a strdie that emphasized efficiency, I suppose to compensate for our diminshing lack of muscle elasticity.

If I take a short stride relative to my height, I think it's probably inevitable that I'm going to heel strike, in order to get my foot under my center of mass. It seems to work OK, so I focus more on maintaining that 180 cadence than my foot strike.
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Post  Schuey Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:32 pm

Yep your freak! lol!
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Post  Admin Wed Jul 25, 2012 9:47 pm

He's a super freak... super freak... he's super freaky... yeow...

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Post  Chris M Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:02 pm

Martin VW wrote:
JohnP wrote:Martin, one other thing I notice from the picture, you are seemingly landing on your heel. I know you are very good at the quick turnover so I was surprised to see that.

I want to start by stating that IMO there's a "right" way for each of us to run, but being a midfoot striker vs. a heel striker doesn't mean one is better than the other. I don't believe in the pronounced toe strike, I think it puts way too much stress on your calves. Some runners may have learned to compensate, but I still think there's performance to be gained by changing that. And, I suppose if you were a really HEAVY heel striker, a lot of energy transfer is being lost.

That aside, Chris and I have talked about how when we run, we don't get that "classic" knee lift /butt kick. that we sort of "shuffle" along. When we want to run fast, we just shuffle faster. Smile Because we took to distance running in our 40's we've theorized that we landed on a strdie that emphasized efficiency, I suppose to compensate for our diminshing lack of muscle elasticity.

If I take a short stride relative to my height, I think it's probably inevitable that I'm going to heel strike, in order to get my foot under my center of mass. It seems to work OK, so I focus more on maintaining that 180 cadence than my foot strike.

Yup. Here we are shuffling along together at Disney in January 2010. Fun times!

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Post  Schuey Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:09 pm

Chris are sure you guys are running that looks heck lot more like walking to me! Chris you look like you are fun and VW looks like he is in pain!
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Post  Martin VW Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:25 pm

Schuey wrote:Chris are sure you guys are running that looks heck lot more like walking to me! Chris you look like you are fun and VW looks like he is in pain!

Depending on where that picture was in the race, we may well have been doing 9 minute miles. It was the back half of the Goofy, we had run the half the day before, it was 26 degrees, I wasn't in marathon shape, let alone Goofy shape, and I had gotten a total of 6 hours sleep in two days.

So yes, while it was a great time overall, chances are I wasn't having much fun at that particular moment. Smile

On the other hand, if that pic was taken by Chris' family, the much-need emotional pickup of seeing them is probably what brought a smile to his face.
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Post  Schuey Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:28 pm

Yep it's tough. It was like that in April when I ran my back to back trail races half and then 50k. It was so darn cold Lisa and I took our air mattress out of the tent and in the back of our truck and sleep. It was 20 degrees that morning! Not fun at the start of that one but was fun by the end of the day! Very Happy
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